Survey of University-Firm Interactions and Innovation: a Comparison of the North West, East of England and Wales, 2002-2007

The aim of the research was to develop a deeper empirically based understanding of the impacts of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on the innovativeness and competitiveness of regional economies. The research gathered new data and metrics on regional university-industry links as it relates to research and innovation across three regions: Wales, the North West and the East of England (selected on the basis of their diversity in relation to sectoral specialisation, differences in their industrial histories, and heterogeneity in governance structures). The key data corresponds to an 'inside-out' perspective; it takes firms as the unit of analysis and explores how HEIs and businesses interact within the surrounding industrial environment to uncover the character of regional innovation network relationships, the dynamics of their emergence, the effectiveness of the mediating role of regional institutions and the barriers to regional innovation performance.<br> <br> Further information can be found on the <a href="http://www.esrcsocietytoday/esrcinfocentre/viewawardpage.aspx?awardnumber=RES-171-25-0038" title ="ESRC Award">ESRC Award</a> web page.<br>